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		<title>Sensationalism or silence in the Congo: rape, death and the media</title>
		<description>Discuss Sensationalism or silence in the Congo: rape, death and the media</description>
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			<title>Frank says:</title>
			<link>http://www.worldandmedia.com/drc/sensationalism-or-silence-in-the-congo-rape-death-and-the-media-2605.html#comment-58</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Your point about incentives is interesting. Incentives matter not just regarding the state apparatus but also for would-be rapists and victims. Hard cases make bad law but bad law can also make hard cases. The April/May 2011 blog posts by Chuck Sudetic for the Open Society Foundations on Congo Justice in a mobile court illustrates some of the difficulties of law-enforcement in the Democratic Republic of Congo: http://blog.soros.org/author/chuck-sudetic/ Prosecution is difficult everywhere. In most Western countries, much higher standards of proof are required than in the DRC mobile court, with the result that there are few prosecutions and, therefore, victims have a disincentive to report rape to the police. In the mobile court, they seem to have gone to another extreme: the financial incentive to prosecute might be too high, e.g.: http://blog.soros.org/2011/04/congo-justice-unintended-consequences/ The best way to reduce the incidence of rape is to change attitudes among the public (as well as within governments and the justice system). It's a difficult task but while law-enforcement can contribute to changes in public attitudes, it is unlikely to solve the problem on its own. Rapes by strangers in dark alleyways are condemned more or less everywhere. It shouldn't be impossible for the much more common forms of rape and mistreatment of partners (male or female) to become similarly stigmatised. The difference between drink-driving and, say, speeding is that, although there are laws and public information campaigns against both, there is a much greater stigma now attached to the former. Drink-driving is widely regarded as unacceptable in Ireland, for example, in a way that it wasn't 25 years ago. (I can't remember who was pointing this out recently.)]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Frank</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:32:34 +0100</pubDate>
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			<title>Aurelie_Sicard says:</title>
			<link>http://www.worldandmedia.com/drc/sensationalism-or-silence-in-the-congo-rape-death-and-the-media-2605.html#comment-57</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I did not intend to say that the authors did not helped in the debate nor they were "bad". I meant that the discussion around the number of rapes being accurate sounds futile comparing the real damages done. I agree it is interesting to show the double debates dynamic but it nonetheless feels "cold"... The only thing needed to empower women and gives them tools of empowerment to stop the sexual violence that is largely issued from patriarchal institutions. Laws exist in many countries - western states and developping countries - but as long as there is no change in the attitude of the justice, the police and the state to support women then it is all for nothing. However comparing drink-driving habits to sexual violence is, I think, a bad choice. Drink-driving is not as institutionalised as sexual violence can be. In addition, the drink-dirving problem was supported by the state, giving means to reduce it through better police controls, stronger judicial outcomes (prison terms, larger fines etc...). I don't think there is such an incentive in sexual violence. Victims of sexual violence do not necessarily cost the same amount of money for the state (health mainly) in comparison of victims of road crashes due to drink-driving...]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Aurelie_Sicard</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:10:42 +0100</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.worldandmedia.com/drc/sensationalism-or-silence-in-the-congo-rape-death-and-the-media-2605.html#comment-57</guid>
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			<title>Frank says:</title>
			<link>http://www.worldandmedia.com/drc/sensationalism-or-silence-in-the-congo-rape-death-and-the-media-2605.html#comment-56</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Aurelie, like you, I was appalled when I read the recent reports as to the sheer scale of rape in the DRC and how much of it was by intimate partners. We tweeted with links to the original research and a BBC story on it on May 15. I later became aware that the story and how it was being covered had generated some controversy. I did my best to represent that controversy accurately above. This was a relatively neutral analysis rather than an opinion piece. However, I do describe rape as an "appalling crime" and a "global problem". Personally, I find the apparent similarity between DRC and US lifetime rape rates a reason for increased rather than reduced concern. At no point do I diminish the crime of rape or suggest that the focus should be on death. You may think that Howard French is doing so, however. While I do not agree with everything Prof French says or how he says it, I think that what he says is interesting. I do not believe that he is complaining about the rape coverage nor questioning or diminishing the research. He is simply asking why 5.4 million deaths in the DRC did not warrant even more coverage. My own view is that neither rape and conflict nor rape by intimate partners receive anything like the attention they should. The attention paid to death in the DRC and millions of annual preventable child deaths in low-income countries is just as bad if not worse. To describe it as a spat or bickering does a disservice to those referenced in the article, who I have no reason to believe are anything other than deeply concerned about the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo, male and female, including victims of rape. I think all participants in the debate believe that the debate also matters. There are really two debates, one about research and the other about media coverage and the public. Both, I believe, have wider implications. Thank you for your comments nonetheless. I sympathise with your reaction to the lack of apparent outrage in the article. We are right to remain outraged about rape in the DRC and worldwide, regardless of the nationality or status of the victims and alleged assailants. A combination of law enforcement and cultural/attitudinal changes has greatly reduced drink-driving in many countries. The same should be possible with rape. What is more, positive changes in attitudes to intimate partners could reduce the frequency of rape and other sexual, physical and psychological abuses that occur far too frequently in relationships. It might also reduce the spread of STDs through casual unprotected sex.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Frank</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jun 2011 01:03:29 +0100</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.worldandmedia.com/drc/sensationalism-or-silence-in-the-congo-rape-death-and-the-media-2605.html#comment-56</guid>
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			<title>Aurelie_Sicard says:</title>
			<link>http://www.worldandmedia.com/drc/sensationalism-or-silence-in-the-congo-rape-death-and-the-media-2605.html#comment-54</link>
			<description><![CDATA[It pains me that you are focusing on the academic and media bickering of the numbers of rapes and sexual assaults. I understand the need of the media to verify the numbers, but your article feels like sexual violence should not be a priority and that there should be a focus on death instead. Maybe you should also ask how many of these women died because of sexual violence? And how many women died because of the conflict in general? Contrary to other wars (The Balkans, Liberia, Sierra Leone) the level of sexual violence only appeared post conflicts and generated a shift in the society whereby sexual violence became "normal". Therefore, I find it "good" that we are aware that there sexual violence already and that in times when the post conflict reconstruction enters in action, solid frameworks can be put in place to prevent further development of daily sexual violence (See cases in the media in Sierra Leone, for e.g.)]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Aurelie_Sicard</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:26:42 +0100</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.worldandmedia.com/drc/sensationalism-or-silence-in-the-congo-rape-death-and-the-media-2605.html#comment-54</guid>
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			<title>Frank says:</title>
			<link>http://www.worldandmedia.com/drc/sensationalism-or-silence-in-the-congo-rape-death-and-the-media-2605.html#comment-53</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Thanks Jina and thanks also for taking the time to reply. I conducted a few searches on Google news and it appears you are right that there has been some coverage in recent years (though predating 2009) but certainly not a great deal nor, as it turns out, has there been a huge amount this month – just more than usual. But I take your point that this month's media coverage is not unprecedented. I have edited the sentence slightly and added some rough search data on media reports in the last 10 years.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Frank</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Fri, 27 May 2011 02:37:37 +0100</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.worldandmedia.com/drc/sensationalism-or-silence-in-the-congo-rape-death-and-the-media-2605.html#comment-53</guid>
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			<title>Frank says:</title>
			<link>http://www.worldandmedia.com/drc/sensationalism-or-silence-in-the-congo-rape-death-and-the-media-2605.html#comment-52</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Thank you very much Dr Palermo. I appreciate you taking the time to read the article and reply. Ouch. Thanks for pointing those errors out. I have corrected the article accordingly and referenced your comment here. I agree and you are very welcome. I admire the spirit in which you and Dr Peterman have engaged in what I think is a worthwhile debate.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Frank</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Fri, 27 May 2011 02:16:25 +0100</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.worldandmedia.com/drc/sensationalism-or-silence-in-the-congo-rape-death-and-the-media-2605.html#comment-52</guid>
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			<title>TiaP says:</title>
			<link>http://www.worldandmedia.com/drc/sensationalism-or-silence-in-the-congo-rape-death-and-the-media-2605.html#comment-51</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I applaud Mr. Humphrey's effort to take a critical look at the studies and media coverage. However, some of the instances of poor reporting were repeated here. Drs. Erikkson Baaz and Sterns do not, in fact, criticize the study for linking conflict in the east to widespread rape--the article does not do this, but rather the ensuing media coverage does. Furthermore, the authors never disagreed that women may claim to be rape victims to access basic services (a reporter's selective interpretation); they simply stated that there is anecdotal evidence for this but worldwide more evidence supports that women underreport, not over-report sexual violence. Sexy headlines aside, there is no "academic spat"--talk about sensationalism--but rather a healthy conversation among academics that encourages the continuous improvement of estimates and existing knowledge. Thanks for keeping the conversation going.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>TiaP</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Thu, 26 May 2011 20:00:33 +0100</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.worldandmedia.com/drc/sensationalism-or-silence-in-the-congo-rape-death-and-the-media-2605.html#comment-51</guid>
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			<title>jina says:</title>
			<link>http://www.worldandmedia.com/drc/sensationalism-or-silence-in-the-congo-rape-death-and-the-media-2605.html#comment-50</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This is an interesting review of what's out there. One quibble: It's not fair to say that "reports of extensive rape in the country are hardly new but have not garnered coverage in the past." There has been a steady increase of Western journalism on rape in Congo since at least the beginning of 2009. In fact, that is precisely Howard French's point -- that there is a great deal of media coverage of this topic, for reasons he finds dubious, to say the least. It's great that VOA has figured out a platform for survivors can tell their own stories but worth noting that they're awfully late: A team of local journalists has been doing that since 2003.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>jina</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Thu, 26 May 2011 18:18:42 +0100</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.worldandmedia.com/drc/sensationalism-or-silence-in-the-congo-rape-death-and-the-media-2605.html#comment-50</guid>
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